As exceptional as Ocasio was at Harmony, including setting 11 career school records, she will have to adjust to the high-quality softball played in the SEC. She is going to a UF program that has reached the Women's College World Series four times since 2008 and finished as the runner-up twice.

UF (48-11) will host Washington in a best-of-three Super Regional, beginning Saturday. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky also are among the 16 teams still alive.

"The Pac-12 and the SEC are the best of the best," said Eustis coach Brittany Scott, a left fielder at Auburn from 2004-08. "You get the best kids from around the nation going to any SEC school. When you come into an SEC school, or any school that plays at a high level, you have to be prepared.''

Five former area high-school players were in the SEC this year: Pine Castle Christian's Emily Carosone at Auburn, South Sumter's Kirsti Merritt at Florida, Wekiva's Niaja Griffin at Georgia, Groveland South Lake's Erika Gaul at Mississippi State and Timber Creek's Dana Hathorn at South Carolina.

"There is a series of challenges I will face, getting accustomed to the style they do things, the conditioning and the schoolwork," said Ocasio, who led Harmony to the state tournament the past two seasons. "Time management is the key."

Ocasio went 24-2 with a 0.60 ERA and 250 strikeouts, and she hit .432 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs this season. When she was not pitching, she played the middle infield.

"I've seen her play, and I think she will do very, very well in the SEC," Scott said.

Said Ocasio: "[The Gators] are always a great team, one of the best in the country. Knowing that I will be a part of that is going to motivate me to work harder. I want to play with the best. I want to play at the highest level and reach my full potential."

Merritt, a sophomore center fielder at UF, said the level of conditioning, travel and expectations are magnified in college.

So are the rewards.

"Playing at Florida has been everything and more for me," Merritt said. "Playing in the World Series last year was an unbelievable experience.

"I was always a little girl playing softball and looking up to the players at Florida. Now there are little girls looking up to me."

Harmony coach Jeff Fiorelli said the Longhorns incorporated some conditioning drills that Florida uses into his workouts this past season. Because Lily Mann, a junior outfielder with the Longhorns who has committed to UF, Gators coach Tim Walton invited Harmony's coaches to Gainesville and showed them their workout program.

" "I don't doubt for a second she will be fine,'' Fiorelli said.

"Everybody is going to miss her. She is one of those kids who isn't going to be replaceable. How can you replace somebody who has done so much?"

Harmony will find out next season. And the Gators will discover the type of player that Ocasio is.

LAKELAND — Hagerty suffered a painful state championship game loss on Saturday night when Wellington sophomore Trent Frazier made a last-second free throw after drawing a foul with a drive at the buzzer.